1. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

2012’s most powerful fine wine brand – Domaine de la Romanée-Conti – cements the notion that Burgundies are the new darling of the fine wine trade.

Described as “the ultimate rich man’s wine”, DRC has moved from fifth place in 2011 to its number one slot for the twelve months to the end of last year.

Although it hasn’t seen price increases during 2012, it has benefited from the first growth’s fall from favour – Lafite, Mouton, Haut-Brion and Latour sat above it last year.

As Jack Hibberd, head of data and research at Liv-ex says: “The key thing is that the firsts have fallen in price and so they have less power in the market now. Two years ago it was all about the firsts, now they are one of many.”

Essentially, DRC shows greater stability through tough times, so when Bordeaux has a bad year, DRC retains its strength.

Drawing advantage from consistent high prices as well as relatively large volumes, it comes second only to Dom Pérignon in terms of weighted production (Dom Pérignon’s average 150,000 case output yields a weighted production figure of almost £150 million, some £30m more than DRC).

In fact, DRC amounts to just over 7,000 cases in total, even if its most expensive variant, Romanée-Conti, accounts for just 500 of those.

Notably, the last time the Liv-ex Power 100 saw DRC top the table was in 2008 – a survey that reflected the fine wine market correction after the Lehman Brothers crash.

A few facts:

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is co-owned by the de Villaine and Leroy/Roch families

The Domaine is currently run by Aubert de Villaine and Henri-Frederic Roch and it is farmed biodynamically.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti comprises:

La Romanée Conti (average production: 450 cases)

La Tâche (average production: 1870 cases)

Richebourg (average production: 1000 cases)

Romanée St Vivant (average production: 1500 cases)

Grands Echezeaux (average production: 1150 cases)

Echezeaux (average production: 1340 cases)

Le Montrachet (average production: 250 cases)

And finally…

The Liv-ex Power 100 has been compiled since 2006. Here is a look at the top 10 most powerful brands each year since the survey’s inception: